MERSEYSIDE culture bosses are ready to step in and save the sinking Royal Iris’s heritage for Liverpool.

The one-time Mersey ferry is in a perilous state on a mud bank in the Thames and taking in water.

Now leaders at the Merseyside Maritime Museum say they could step in to rescue artifacts and preserve her memory.

Iris last crossed the Mersey in 1991 and was affectionately known as the “fish and chip boat” because of the food sold at the events she was hired for.

But for the last eight years she has been left to rack and ruin in the tidal waters of the Thames.

Her plight – and fears a piece of Liverpool heritage could be squandered – sparked outrage when revealed by the ECHO.

Now Merseyside Maritime Museum director Rachel Mulhearn has stepped in with fresh hope something could be salvaged from Iris’s sad end.

Mrs Mulhearn told the ECHO: “While it is not possible to save all vessels when they come to the end of their working lives, there are ways in which museums do preserve the histories around them.

“National Museums Liverpool (NML) has in its collections fixtures and fittings from a variety of vessels, many of which are on display at the Merseyside Maritime Museum.

“If any such artefacts from the Royal Iris came to light, NML would certainly consider acquiring them.”

The museum hopes to capture the ship’s histories for future generations.

Last week it emerged RNLI lifeboatmen and London coastguard officials had to board Iris amid fears people on board could be in danger.

They found her lower decks swamped with water.

Concerned local well-wishers have even called the Port of London Authority demanding to know how she was doing.

NML could buy things like the boat’s bell, life buoys or her wheel – but it remains unlikely she will make an emotional return to Merseyside.

Port of London Authority spokesman Martin Garside said: “We had calls from members of the public in the Merseyside area and they were concerned something drastic had happened to her. She’s not in any immediate danger.